Sunday, April 15, 2018

Tibbs Beef Jerky is the creation of Steve Tibbs, who launched the business in 2016, based out of Bakersfield, CA. Tibbs descends from a line of barbecue grill masters and even dabbles in charcuterie.

But, the story behind Tibbs' entry into the jerky business was weight loss. Reaching 260 pounds at one point, he decided to forge together his love for meat snacks with hitting the gym. He started making his own jerky using whole foods, fresh beef, and healthful ingredients. When his friends tried his jerky, Tibbs realized he had a gold mine on his hands. Today, Tibbs jerky is sold in stores throughout the greater Bakersfield area, as well as online from its website, and now through a monthly subscription service.

This "Teriyaki" is described by the company as, "Not Your Typical Teriyaki", going on to say that it's, "Hand Crafted Beef Jerky with only the finest ingredients, No sugars added No Msg, No Nitrates, Perfect for Keto diets".

The first flavors to come on is a soy sauce followed by a touch of sweet. The salt increases and ushers in some garlic. The chewing brings on the worcestershire, and eventually the natural meat flavors.

For being marketed as, "Teriyaki", this doesn't quite give out the traditional Japanese style teriyaki in that it doesn't have the thick sweet, and doesn't really offer any ginger or other pungent seasoning to help contrast the sweet. The teriyaki also doesn't give out that fermented character that the Japanese style usually imparts from sake or mirin wine.

On the other hand, the company stated that this is, "not your typical teriyaki", and it seems rightly so. Certainly the lighter sweet is more suited for Keto diets, as their description suggests, perhaps justifying the idea that this is a lower-carb alternative to traditional teriyaki.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a lightly sweetened combination of soy sauce and worcestershire, with a bit of garlic, over the natural flavor of beef.

The meat consistency is largely dry, and a little extra chewy. I noted a fair amount of stringiness in this review sample, and even a piece with a substantial amount of gristle, though it could be an aberration with this batch. Overall, it has a meaty, steak-like chewing texture.

Verdict

This Teriyaki style from Tibbs Beef Jerky doesn't meet the typical expectations that come with traditional teriyaki, but then again the company already stated that this is not a typical teriyaki jerky. Claiming that it's perfect for Keto diets, certainly the light sweetness is better suited for ketosis-inducing weight loss enthusiasts, and as such perhaps this is a teriyaki targeted for the low-carb crowd. But for the remaining fans of sticky-sweet Japanese-style barbecue sauces, this jerky won't give you what you're craving for. Yet on its own merits, it's still a well-balanced jerky between savory sauces and seasonings, and still offers a meaty, steak-like chewing.

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About Best Beef Jerky

I'm Steve Johnson, and I've been in the Internet marketing and publishing business since 1997. I've been a life-long fan of beef jerky and decided to merge my profession with my snack food of choice, and gave birth to Best Beef Jerky.

I review beef jerky, turkey jerky, bison jerky, pretty much any meat jerky, even vegan jerky. I review meat sticks, biltong, cecina, carne seca, it's all fair game as long as it's meat, it's dried, and it's a snack.